But a Dream Within a Dream
by quickand2thepointless
Summary: Updated! After Doumeki tricks him into a dream transaction, Watanuki witnesses for himself the other boy's wish for him and how he himself feels in return. Let the fireworks begin! Douwata TWO-shot.
1. But a Dream Within a Dream

**A/N: **Time for another Douwata fic. Out of my years of fanfic writing, both _Love Like You Wanted It _and _Meanings of Sacrifice _have been two the favorite stories I've written, so I wanted to try my hand again at this pairing, this time with a little bit of a more lighthearted setting (the angst will we back again before I know it, I'm sure). Hope you enjoy!

**Rating: **T, for some friskiness.

**Spoilers/Timeline: **Spoilers only for the Dream Merchant, and chronologically happens after Watanuki gets introduced to the dream world and dream selling (in other words, not long after he meets Haruka)

**Disclaimer: **The boys belong to CLAMP, and the way I've made them belong to each other belongs to me.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

**But a Dream Within a Dream.**

Watanuki was exhausted by time he finally made it to school. He'd had a long night courtesy of Yuuko, Mokona, and the substantial cache of French wines the shop had received as payment for a wish Yuuko had forced Watanuki to undertake for her. Even though he wasn't a particularly big drinker, Watanuki had demanded the reward go directly to him since he had done all the leg work in earning it, but Yuuko for once had promised to cut down on his hours working in the shop if he agreed to share the wealth. Watanuki thought the bargain had been worth it initially, but six straight hours of Yuuko and Mokona singing the latest radio hits and gossiping about Syaoran's group of travelers without a sense of volume control had changed his mind.

"Three hours of sleep," he groaned, burying his face into his desk. "And then they woke me up, from a nightmare no less, demanding hangover medicine and water. At least I found some time to make Himawari-chan her favorite cookies since I was already awake anyways."

"They're good," came a flat voice from beside him. He turned his head and cracked open an eye to see Doumeki with the unwrapped package of cookies in his hands, biting into one of the treats without bothering to look guilty over it.

Most days, this would have sent Watanuki off into one of his fits, but lack of sleep and a headache numbed him enough to where he could only glare and tell Doumeki off with a waspish, "Save at least five for Himawari-chan, or I'll wipe that stupid look off your face."

Doumeki polished off the first cookie and picked up a second. "Kunogi won't be coming today. One of her neighbors is in the hospital, and her family is paying their respects."

"AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?"

"We had to trade off cleaning duties, so she called the temple. And since she can't be here, I'll finish these cookies for her."

Watanuki grumbled insults under his breath, but didn't stop Doumeki from working his way through the rest of them. It was pointless; if he yanked them away, he wouldn't have anyone else to give them to, and even if he bothered to protest, it wasn't as if Doumeki would stop. He had a whole-hearted love affair with Watanuki's cooking, and even though Watanuki hated to admit it, he was somewhat flattered by the way Doumeki would go through any lengths to get his hands on whatever the other boy had made for him or someone else. Himawari always appreciated the bento they shared, but Doumeki was the one sneaking more than his fair share and demanding extra helpings of Watanuki's best recipes.

"I had a good dream last night," Doumeki said, pulling out the last cookie and holding it in his hands. "To pay you back, I'll tell you about it."

Watanuki shook his head. "Bad idea." He couldn't remember why at the moment— his brain felt stale and heavy with exhaustion— but he knew from some prior experience that he wasn't supposed to get involved with the dreams of others unless he wanted to face the natural consequence of the exchange.

"Can you tell me why it's a bad idea?" Doumeki pressed.

All Watanuki could remember was a creature like a trunkless elephant who carried around a handful of balloons. Or was that a figure from a dream he'd had? He could hardly keep it straight sometimes. The more he explored the world Yuuko lived in, the more lost he became in its many intricacies, the blend between reality as he knew it and legend, and the surprising intermingling of spirits with the everyday forces most humans were aware of. He wondered half the time if the things he saw _were _just figments of dreams.

"Something about balloons," he said finally, yawning into his hands. Why did Doumeki have to pick today of all days to be conversational? After a full night's sleep, Watanuki was usually in fighting form and could easily shriek away these annoying interactions, but just now he couldn't muster it. He was beginning to wonder if Yuuko had done this on purpose, and was currently laughing the day away with Mokona back in the shop for yet again causing him grief.

"Balloons," Doumeki echoed. He still hadn't eaten the last cookie yet, and was staring at it with his usual lack of expression. "The dream started at my family's temple—"

"Didn't I tell you not to say anything?"

"I can't say anything because of _balloons_." He said the word without inflection, but it still managed to sound scathing. Watanuki lifted his head up to glare at Doumeki, but the other boy was still gazing at his remaining cookie, the one in the shape of a bird. Watanuki sighed. That was the one he had been especially looking forward to Himawari accepting, since he had spent the most time on shaping it.

"Anyways, the dream started at my family's temple," Doumeki continued when Watanuki couldn't elaborate on his balloon remark. "It was hanabi season, and you and I were watching from the temple in our yukata—"

"Was Himawari-chan there?"

"No."

"Then I don't really want to hear it."

"That's not going to stop me from saying it."

Watanuki frowned, covering his ears and humming just to spite him. Doumeki shrugged and continued the narrative in any case, and every now and then when Watanuki paused to catch his breath, he could hear scattered words of it here and there. _Sweet tea... moon... skin... heat. _Knowing Doumeki, it would be the kind of dream where he would have to cook a huge meal in the end, while everyone else in the world except Watanuki got to enjoy it. Why couldn't Doumeki had been given the nightmare instead of him?

The moment Doumeki's mouth stopped moving, Watanuki lifted his hands from his ears and watched as the other boy finally took care of the bird shaped cookie with a lick of his lips.

"What's so great about two guys watching hanabi without Himawari-chan?" he asked, his normal thought process returning to him bit by bit. "She looks so cute in her yukata, too."

"You'll see soon enough, since you didn't bother to listen." Doumeki wrinkled the cloth heart patterned wrapper and lobbed it at Watanuki's head. "And since I shared that with you, you could at least tell me what your problem is today. You're too quiet."

"_Problem? _How ungrateful to the one who is deigning to allow you to speak. If you must know, Yuuko and Mokona drank enough bottles of wine to fill a swimming pool, and they kept me up all night singing and demanding that I cook them something to go with their drinks. And when I finally did get to sleep, I had to put up with this stupid dream about..." He trailed off, biting his lip. "Well, that's not important."

"I already told you my dream, you know."

"And I clearly didn't listen."

"That's not my fault. Don't be stingy."

"I'm not _stingy_." Watanuki folded his arms across his chest and sighed. "It was about Himawari-chan not liking something I made for her. That's all."

He hoped this was not too transparent of a lie; he did often voice concerns of Himawari's approval or disapproval of his cooking, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to pretend he'd been troubled by a dream in which he'd failed to meet her standards. At least he hoped Doumeki would assume it was reasonable and leave it at that.

"We'll see," was all Doumeki said. He wasn't smiling, but there was something in his eyes that spoke of mischief, which made Watanuki shift in his seat in discomfort. If he was feeling like himself, he'd quash whatever Doumeki had in mind before it developed further, but today he just didn't have the energy. The headache nursing in his skull had something to do with it, but the true dream playing through his mind was an even more bothersome trial to contend with. He had spent nearly sleepless nights in Yuuko's shop before, and what he was feeling now had little to do with her or how much sleep she had kept him from getting. What was going on in his heart was something else entirely.

Watanuki buried his head on his desk again. _Please, just let this day be over. I don't want to think about it anymore. _But he could feel Doumeki's eyes on him as he squirmed in his seat, and not a single secret of his felt safe, not even in the fortress of his mind. He had a feeling that everything was going to come out in the open somehow, and it would, as it always did, come out badly for him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Now, now, what's this?" Yuuko asked when Watanuki collapsed through the door of the shop and sprawled out on the ground.

"What's this, what's this?" Maru and Moro echoed, dancing around his body. "Watanuki's dead! Watanuki's dead."

"No, I could see that on my own." Yuuko grabbed her assistant by the collar and shoved her face in front of him. "I was just thinking that you had entered into yet another contract unwillingly. It seems our Watanuki will never learn, will he?"

"It doesn't matter," Watanuki groaned, falling limp within Yuuko's grip. "Just give me a few hours of sleep. Just a few hours, and we can talk about it."

"Hmm. Considering the nature of your transaction, it seems I will have to allow it. The possibility is too amusing to pass up. But be aware that your desire to sleep may have a price you weren't expecting... quite the _intimate _price, too."

"Whatever you say, Yuuko-san," Watanuki mumbled, dragging his body down to the guest bedroom. He was half afraid of falling asleep even without her warning, the memory of last night's dream still fresh in his mind. _But that was a fluke, _he coached himself, resting his head on the pillow. _If you dwell too much on it, you'll never get any sleep for weeks. Think of something good. Think of Himawari-chan._

As he drifted off, he thought he could hear Yuuko laughing in the next room over, her soft voice cooing a _Poor Watanuki_ as Maru and Moro and Mokona echoed her words, heralding in a new dream with their conspiratorial joy.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When he opened his eyes, he was sitting on the _engawa _of Doumeki's house and eating a watermelon. It was a warm evening, and he could feel beads of sweat collecting on his forehead and how nice and cool the melon felt in his mouth, its juice trickling slightly out of the corner of his lips.

"It's still summer," he noted, fanning himself with his hand. "How did I get here? Wasn't I...?" He tried to remember where he was fifteen minutes earlier, but couldn't.

"Here."

He turned around to see Doumeki holding out a glass of sweet tea for him to take, his body covered in a navy blue yukata that fit his athletic body neatly. Watanuki accepted the glass and took a sip before blinking and shaking his head in confusion. "Wait a minute," he asked, scooting over as Doumeki took a seat beside him. "Why are you wearing that right now?"

"Same reason you're wearing yours, idiot."

Watanuki glanced down at his lap. Doumeki was right: he was dressed in his summer yukata, and his feet were tucked into wooden sandals. He stared at them in confusion. He hadn't remembered wearing these earlier, or today being an occasion where he would need to. And why was he with Doumeki, anyways, rather than with Himawari or Yuuko?

"Hanabi," Doumeki clarified. "I invited you over to watch."

"Hanabi," Watanuki echoed. Something about hearing the term struck him as recent and familiar. "Is Himawari-chan here, too?"

"No. It's fine if it's just us. That's how I wanted it to be."

"WHAT?" Watanuki jerked his glass, and some of the tea spilled over onto his chest. "Don't say weird things like that! I wouldn't have come here if I had known you were going to act so strange."

Doumeki leaned into him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Watanuki. You've made a mess of yourself. Allow me." He began pulling at the sleeve of his yukata, tugging the damp fabric away from his skin.

"What are you doing?"

"It's not good to leave it like that. You might catch a cold."

"Not in this weather, I won't. Hands off."

"But your skin. I want to see it." Doumeki eased the rest of the fabric from his shoulders, and it slipped down to his waist. "It's pale, like the moon."

Watanuki tried to cover himself with his hands, his eyes widening. "Doumeki, what are you—"

His hands were pushed away, and his chest once again exposed. "Want to see you," Doumeki said again, running his hands along the lines of Watanuki's stomach. "I want to know what you feel like."

"T-that isn't your business!" Watanuki yelled, scurrying backwards to keep himself out of Doumeki's grip. The skin of Doumeki's fingers tickled, but felt strangely comforting, a cooling touch on his heated skin. He didn't want to feel it anymore. The more he gave in, the closer he would have to come to acknowledging that other than the shock of it, it didn't really bother him. He'd watched Doumeki's hands on a bow before, and that was how they felt against him; steady and deliberate, focused and intent.

Doumeki's arms snaked out and trapped him by the waist. "Don't run," he ordered, pulling Watanuki against him again. "It feels better when you're close."

"It's too hot for this," Watanuki tried to protest, although that had to be last on his list of worries. "But more than that, this is—"

Without warning, Doumeki leaned forward to trap Watanuki's lips underneath his own. Watanuki cried out in surprise, but the sound was muffled by Doumeki's mouth and its slow movements against his. He could taste sweet tea and watermelon on his teeth, and even more alluring, the feeling of his breath moving inside him, and then his tongue as it broke through Watanuki's lips and teased his skin. He was finding it hard to think or object, even though he knew it was necessary to do the former to lead toward the latter and end this embrace he had not consented to. But consent or no consent, the word 'no' stuck in his throat, and his hands balled into Doumeki's yukata rather than pushing him away. Somewhere, in a distant place they no longer inhabited, the first of the fireworks were exploding in the air.

When they pulled apart, Watanuki realized he had somehow ended up pinned to the _engawa _by Doumeki's larger frame. The other boy was looking down at where he held Watanuki in his arms, his eyes made bright by the moon overhead and the flashes of color above them, first red than yellow than green. Watanuki couldn't tell if the resounding burst he heard around him was the light exploding in the sky or his own traitorous heart.

"Watanuki," Doumeki murmured, drawing his finger across his prize's lips. "Is it okay like this?"

"I... I don't understand..." Watanuki pulled his eyes away and looked at the spot over Doumeki's head. The firework that came to life in front of him was in the shape of a heart; he had to be dreaming.

"Idiot," Doumeki muttered, turning Watanuki's head back to him. "There's only one reason for this. Is it that hard to understand?"

"But for me, I—"

"You're the person I want to be here with. Every year. Every season."

Watanuki's mouth fell open. He stared into Doumeki's unblinking eyes, but he could tell it wasn't a joke. He had never looked so serious in his life, which was something unlikely to begin with, but it was _real_. He could see it in front of him, he could reach his hands out to feel that expression, he could taste a kiss again if he wanted, he could hear how they breathed in and out together, he could smell the way their different scents mixed together on their joined skin.

"This has to be a dream," he said aloud, closing his eyes. He couldn't bear it any longer. He couldn't bear knowing whether or not he was living in dreams again, or whether this was what he wanted or what he was fooling himself to believe in.

"It doesn't have to be," Doumeki whispered into his ear. "Even if you wake up, this doesn't have to be a dream. This was my wish, and only by waking up can you make it come true. So wake up, Watanuki. Wake up."

_Wake up, wake up, wake up..._

0o0o0o0o0o0

"WAKE UP!" Mokona shrieked into Watanuki's ear before leaping onto his forehead and jumping up and down. "Yuuko says your sleepy time is up!"

"Mmm?" Watanuki swatted Mokona off of him and rubbed his eyes with one of his hands. _A dream_, he thought with a sigh. _Only a dream._

_ It doesn't have to be._

**_ A dream._**

"Look, Watanuki was drinking tea in his sleep!" Mokona grabbed a half empty glass from his free hand and lifted it up in the air. "Watanuki's a sleep walker!"

"Not in this case," Yuuko corrected, taking the glass from Mokona. "This is the memento of a dream transaction that has been fulfilled. If we wish, we can preserve this to sell to the dream merchant for his personal collection."

"Dream merchant!" Watanuki yelled, sitting up in bed. "That's why I wasn't supposed to..." He trailed off, losing his train of thought. "Wait, a transaction? That dream was because of a transaction?"

"Yes. Between you and Doumeki, I assume. He told you his dream today for the price of the cookie you put the most of your _love _in, did he not?"

"But I wasn't listening!"

"It doesn't matter. The terms were made, and you allowed him to speak aloud his dream and accept the price he had chosen. Just as you have once before, you purchased his dream."

"That was Doumeki's... ALL OF IT?"

"Your actions within the dream were your own, but the setting and circumstances were of his choosing." Yuuko grinned. "Why, did you not find it to your liking?"

Watanuki stared at the glass of iced tea in Yuuko's hands. "If you sell that to the dream merchant, will he know what the dream was?"

"He certainly will. As will the one who buys it from him." She shook the glass in her hand, causing the tea to churn back and forth. "It should get us a good price. It was an unusually good dream, after all."

"I'D RATHER DIE!" Watanuki shrieked, grabbing the glass back from her. "I won't let anyone else see this. It belongs to me!"

"Ahh, I see Watanuki has grown attached to Doumeki's dream. It was so _lovely_, after all. I suppose you can keep it, as long as you work to make up for sleeping all afternoon. Fair is fair."

Watanuki narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't happen to know what that dream was, too, would you?"

"What on earth would make you think that?" Yuuko chuckled to herself and winked. "Besides, what matters is whether _you _liked it. As it seems you did, surely there can be no complaints with this transaction." With another chuckle, she flounced out of the room, leaving Watanuki clutching on to his half empty glass of sweet tea.

"A dream," he murmured when everyone had left him. "A dream that doesn't have to stay a dream. Doumeki's dream."

He held the glass close to his heart. He wasn't quite sure what he would say when he saw Doumeki again. It was going to be awkward, and there was no avoiding the subject— this exchange had clearly happened because Doumeki wanted it to— but he couldn't exactly say what he wanted to outright, not without sacrificing a great deal of his pride along with it.

Suddenly he sat upright in bed, his heart racing. _The other dream... was that exchanged, too? _He had lied about it to Doumeki, and he couldn't remember accepting something that Doumeki had given him before or after telling it, unless the heart patterned cloth Doumeki had returned to him counted. It couldn't, right? That had belonged to Watanuki all along, and it wasn't Doumeki's to give. And even if it did count, would the fact he had lied about his dream assure that Doumeki would dream of Himawari turning down the goods he had made her?

He pulled his hands through his hair and grit his teeth. He was right; this was turning out badly for him, after all.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Back at his house, Doumeki was sleeping in peace underneath his covers. Filling his head was a vision of a long buffet table filled with cakes and his favorite dinners, each cooked to perfection and smelling of Watanuki's expert handiwork. Watanuki himself was setting the table, his apron coming untied a bit and slipping down his back.

"For me?" Doumeki asked, taking a seat.

"D-don't get the wrong idea about this!" Watanuki insisted, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "These are all leftovers from the meal Yuuko made me cook for her!"

"You usually make Yuuko-san _omurice_ with 'I love you_' _written on it?"

"I meant that the ingredients were leftover!" Watanuki's face was turning a lovely shade of pink, which made Doumeki feel satisfied with himself for bringing the words up to begin with.

"Did you mean what you wrote, though?"

"I... I... it's Valentine's Day, so I thought I was obligated to do something nice for you."

"You were _obligated _to write 'I love you'?"

"Well... I..." Giving up, Watanuki fell onto his knees and thrust a bag of homemade chocolate into Doumeki's hands. "I'm sorry, but I can't lie anymore. Please go out with me, Doumeki! I've had feelings for you from the very beginning!"

Doumeki stared at him. "Oi, are you for real?" That wasn't something Watanuki would say in a million years. Even if this was a dream, as he knew it was, he could barely process the sight of Watanuki acting like a lovelorn school girl, professing his love as if it were really so simple to transition from being one sided rivals to lovers at the drop of a hat.

"Of course I'm telling the truth," Watanuki said, a few passionate tears gathering in his eyes. "Do you think this is easy for me? I like you, but... it's just so... so... so embarrassing. I hardly know what to say around you anymore."

Doumeki blinked. "Idiot," he said finally. "So that's what you were trying to hide from me?"

Watanuki's shoulders slumped. "Idiot? Does that mean you..."

Instead of answering him directly, Doumeki leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. Tomorrow was going to be such an interesting day at school, just like he hoped it would be. Although something told him that this version of Watanuki was going to be a lot more forthcoming than the real one. It was too bad, really. He looked so cute the way he was now, wordlessly gawking at Doumeki's lips as they drew away, just as he had in the dream that had been Doumeki's wish for him.

In his sleep, Doumeki's hands clenched around a bag of chocolates, the memento of a contract fulfilled.

0o0o0o0o0o


	2. A Dream Deferred

**A/N: **Hey, DouWata fans! It seems enough of you wanted a part 2 to this story to warrant me writing one, so for all of you who messaged or reviewed me asking to share what happens "the next day," here it is! I hope you enjoy this part as much as the first.

Also, those of you who follow my DouWata fics know that I haven't published a lemon for their fandom, so I thought I'd share with you that my KuroFai fic "To the Beginning" has a bonus M-rated DouWata story in it. "To the Beginning" is an AU, but you should still be able to understand it from context without reading the rest of "To the Beginning." For those of you who are interested, the bonus story is Chapter 22.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

**A Dream Deferred.**

Watanuki groaned as his alarm sounded, piercing through the still air of his room. It was the second night in a row he had spent with hardly any sleep, and his body protested as he dragged himself out of bed and began digging through his closet for his uniform. He had been dreading this moment. He had stayed up all night bemoaning its arrival, watching the minutes ticking away one-by-one until it was morning and there was no more time left to hide behind. It was amazing how easily he had fooled himself into thinking that the slow moving clock would never reach its destination. It had been effortless to believe that there were still six long hours until morning, but that had slowly whittled away to five, four, three, two, and then at last one. It could not be avoided. He could practically hear Yuuko and Mokona cackling away back at the shop, and Doumeki sitting at the temple with his flat expression vaguely smug.

_Doumeki..._

Watanuki clenched his fists. He hated thinking about it. Doumeki had planned their whole exchange out perfectly, and now he expected to be awarded for it simply because Watanuki had submitted to him in dreams and allowed himself to be temporarily won over. But he was awake now. He had forced himself to stay awake ever since he first saw Doumeki's dream so that he could keep such traitorous thoughts from touching his vulnerable mind again. He may have been weakened while he was sleeping, but now he would fight back with all he had. He would make sure Doumeki knew that he had not won anything yet.

_But still... _

They would have to talk about it. There was no getting out of that. Doumeki's actions had been deliberate, so he knew Watanuki had witnessed the dream. There was no way he would simply leave it as it was without asking.

Watanuki buried his head in his folded uniform, hiding his flushed expression. What if he called in sick? He hadn't slept properly for two days, so it wasn't as if he was in the right mindset to go to school, anyways. But if he did that, Doumeki would know he was hiding, and his cowardice would come across as something shameful and weak. Yuuko herself would give him grief for trying to avoid a decision he was obligated to make, and he knew for experience that things became needlessly complicated when Yuuko deigned to involve herself in them.

With another anguished groan, he pulled on his uniform and unenthusiastically drew a comb through his hair. There were bags under his eyes, which only drew more attention to their dual coloring. He touched the skin beneath his golden eye, the one from Doumeki, and studied it critically. He never knew how much of his world it could impart to Doumeki, or when it would unexpectedly allow the two of them to link. It always made him wary that Doumeki might know more of him than he let on, and could possibly see underneath Watanuki's desperate attempts to keep his more shameful feelings under wraps.

Watanuki lingered in the bathroom, waiting for time to pass. He knew that Doumeki left the temple on a fairly regular schedule, and that he needed to lag behind a little bit to avoid walking to school alone with him. Of course, Doumeki might guess that he'd try something like this, but if Watanuki took a different route to school, and if Doumeki couldn't wait around because he worried about being late...

"Watanuki's acting like a lovestruck maiden!" Mokona's voice taunted in the back of his mind. (_"Maiden, maiden!" _Maru and Moro helpfully echoed.)

"I am not!" Watanuki shrieked. He dove out of the bathroom and gathered his books and prepared to leave. He'd take the long way, passing by Himawari's house. It would be fine as long as he was with her. Even Doumeki wouldn't be comfortable talking about something so personal while she was there. At least he hoped he wouldn't be.

Watanuki left the house, his body once again rebelling against his movements. If only Yuuko had let him sleep longer last afternoon...

He froze. No, that wouldn't have been good. The dream would have continued forward if that had happened. He had been in Doumeki's arms, they had kissed, he had been confessed to in a blunt, straightforward voice that had swayed his heart. What would have happened next? Would he have said 'yes'? Would Doumeki have taken their contact a step further than just kissing? The thought of it made him shiver.

"Watanuki-kun?"

He looked up. Himawari was a little ways ahead of him on the street, and she had turned around to watch him as he came closer. She had a concerned look on her face, and began to reach out her hands as if to steady him before abruptly pulling them back, apparently rethinking her decision to come into contact with him.

"Are you all right?" she asked, her eyebrows bunching together. "You're flushed, and you look exhausted. Do you have a fever? Or... is it like that time again?" She seemed to be remembering the spirit Doumeki had saved him from, the one in the shape of a woman.

"I'm fine," Watanuki said, forcing a wide smile. "I didn't sleep well last night. But I'm sure seeing you will energize me right away, Himawari-chan!"

"I hope so. But maybe you should go to the infirmary just in case."

They began walking together, and Watanuki felt a new spring in his step. She was so easy to be around, unlike Doumeki. She was kind and supportive, but if there was ever anything Watanuki didn't want to talk about, she didn't press the matter any further than Watanuki wanted it to go. Her habit of holding him at arm's length had formerly depressed him, but he valued it now. She was at the very least safer than Doumeki and all of his needless prying.

Himawari looked at her watch. "Looks like we're running late," she said. "Let's go, Watanuki-kun. We won't be able to stop by the temple, but Doumeki-kun should be waiting for us when we get there."

"We don't have to meet up with Doumeki," Watanuki said, his voice straining.

"But you two get along so well!" She looked at Watanuki's empty hands. "You didn't make a bento today?"

Watanuki grit his teeth. He had thought about it all through the night. If he made Doumeki a bento, it would be almost like a positive signal between them, but if he made lunch only for himself and Himawari, Doumeki would take it as a deliberate slight fueled by the dream, something that would provoke him further. And if he made one only for himself, Himawari would be hurt and he'd come across as looking needlessly selfish.

He'd worried about it so much that he hadn't made anything. They'd all have to buy something for lunch for the first time since they'd become friends with one another. It was just as conspicuous as all the other options he had passed over.

"You must really be sick," Himawari said, pursing her lips. "I'll take you to the infirmary right away so you can sleep a little bit before going to class." Watanuki didn't know whether to be offended or not that she immediately associated his decision not to bring lunch with him being ill.

"Kunogi," came Doumeki's flat voice. They had reached the school, and Doumeki was waiting by the gates. He had spoken to Himawai first, but his eyes were on Watanuki's slumped body, fixing on the bags under his eyes and the haggard look on his face.

He reached a hand out and grabbed Watanuki's arm, pulling his hunched frame upwards. "I'll take him," he said. "You can go on to class, Kunogi."

Himawari looked at the two of them for a moment, her cheeks turning a faint pink. Watanuki hoped she would protest on his behalf, but when he got a better look at her, he was dismayed to realize she was pleased by this turn of events.

"Let go," Watanuki snapped. "I'm not sick. I just didn't sleep well again."

Doumeki's eyes narrowed. "Was that my fault?" he asked in a low voice. The gaze he gave Watanuki was not invasive or smug or asking him to spill everything openly at that very moment. If anything, he looked somewhat troubled that his actions had forced Watanuki into yet another sleepless night on the tail of the one Yuuko and Mokona had given him.

Watanuki opened his mouth to yell at him again, but suddenly fell silent. There was a slight bit of moisture on Doumeki's forehead, and the sight of his sweat brought back memories of the dream. _The way your skin came together felt good, _his mind teased him. _Do you remember how it felt when he touched you? The way those lips kissed you, then told you that you and you alone were the person he wanted? _

He felt his body swaying slightly. Doumeki grabbed him by the shoulders, but could not stop Watanuki from slumping into his chest.

"Doumeki... it's your fault," Watanuki murmured, his vision swimming.

"I'll take responsibility," Doumeki's voice whispered in his ears. "If you'll let me."

He was already half-asleep in Doumeki's arms, but he could feel his body being lifted up, his long limbs wrapping around something warm and solid. Something with a gentle heartbeat that lulled him comfortably. Something careful and loving and safe.

_His dream, _a voice nagged in the back of his mind. _He said it would only come true if you woke up. Don't go to sleep now. Face him._

But he could not stop the sleep that washed over him in the comfort of those arms. In the end, the only thing he could do was run away and hide himself, even if it was within the embrace of the very thing he was running from.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Warm hands glided across his face. He knew without opening his eyes who they belonged to. They'd never touched him before in this way while he was awake, but his body remembered them from his time spent in dreams. He tilted his head, leaning into the touch, and opened his eyes. Doumeki was bent over him, his loose yukata exposing the lines of his collar bone and chest.

"This is a dream," he murmured. The fireworks were still bursting over his head, just as they had been when the previous dream ended. Everything was just as he had left it; it was almost as if his real life had been the dream, and this was what he was returning to now that he had woken up.

"Does it have to be?" Doumeki asked, running his fingers across Watanuki's lips. "If it is a dream, it's yours this time."

"I..." he trailed off, watching a firework burst into a halo of green. "Is this what I want? If I know it's a dream, I can be like this... but when it's really you in front of me, I can't do anything."

"Why?" Doumeki asked. His hands were still cradling Watanuki's face. "This dream happened to both of us. Can you say it's not real?"

"But these aren't really our bodies. We're both probably in the infirmary right now."

"But still... your body remembers this touch. Whether you're awake or asleep. It's real." His fingers traveled down Watanuki's jaw and throat, resting on the skin of his chest. "What would Yuuko-san say? Does what happen in dreams have a consequence? Does what we do and don't do here have no meaning?"

Watanuki didn't say anything. They both knew the answer. Instead of talking, he tilted his face upwards towards Doumeki's lips. _Don't say anything_, he quietly begged. _Don't make me say what my pride won't let me say. I'm here with you, I'm letting this happen, just let those things say what I can't._

He closed his eyes. He could feel Doumeki's lips pressing against his, but what he felt against his back wasn't the hard wood of the _engawa. _It was the soft embrace of sheets, a plump pillow cradling his sleeping head.

0o0o0o0o0o0

He opened his eyes. Doumeki's face had pulled away from him, but his hands were resting against his chest, feeling its sharp rise and fall.

"Dou...meki?" Watanuki rubbed his eyes. They were in the infirmary together, but the doctor didn't seem to be anywhere nearby. He felt surprisingly well rested, even though he was sure he couldn't have slept too long given the fleeting duration of his dream.

"It's lunch," Doumeki said. He lifted up some of the pre-made sandwiches he'd purchased from the cafeteria. "You owe me a bento."

"I slept that long," Watanuki mused before remembering to get angry over Doumeki's demand of him. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you, obviously." He put one of the sandwiches in Watanuki's hands. "Here. Eat."

Watanuki blinked. He couldn't remember Doumeki ever giving him food before. "Am I still dreaming?" he asked, staring at the single sandwich in his hands.

"Is that the only way you'll accept me?" Doumeki asked. His expression didn't change, but something in the way he looked at Watanuki seemed terribly serious.

"Don't imply that I'm a coward," Watanuki grumbled. "You were the one who made this happen in dreams to begin with."

"You could have run away from me in dreams if you wanted to. I took a chance because I hoped you wouldn't."

"Hmph."

"I saw your dream, too."

Watanuki's eyes widened. "The one... just now?"

Doumeki smiled slightly. "I meant the one that you gave up in the exchange. Omurice with 'I love you,' huh?"

Watanuki flushed violently. "Y-You! There's no way you took that seriously, right? I would never act like that! Ever!"

"I know. But the fact that you had a dream like that still means you're thinking of me." He brushed Watanuki's cheek. "And the dream just now... I saw that, too." He tapped his finger against the corner of his eye. "It seems it triggered an emotional response enough for me to see."

"Oh." Watanuki fell silent.

"Now would be the time to act like a Tsundere-chan if you don't want me to think too much about what happened in that dream."

"Shut up," Watanuki snapped. "I'm not-" He paused, realizing that whatever he would say next would come out sounding just like Doumeki was expecting it to. He sighed in disgust.

"Watanuki." Doumeki leaned in closer. "You know how I feel."

"...yes."

"I told you in the dream. But even if I hadn't said it, you would have known."

"Well, you don't seem like the kind of person who would do that sort of thing just a joke," Watanuki grumbled.

"Is it all right, then, if I think the same thing about you?"

"Huh?"

"You won't talk about it. You won't confess to something that embarrasses you. But even if you don't say it, I think the fact that you react and don't push me away means that you feel what I do." His face drew even closer, hovering just above Watanuki's lips. "So, in that case I'll just take what's silently being offered to me and let it go at that for now. _Itadakimasu._"

"Wait-" Watanuki started to say, but Doumeki quickly silenced him with a kiss. It was not so unrestrained as the kiss they had shared in dreams, but the feeling behind it was just as overcoming he remembered. He sighed just a little into Doumeki's mouth as the sweet fever swallowed him, forcing his pride and meaningless objections somewhere too far for his mind to reach. At just the slightest urging from Doumeki, he parted his lips to accept his prodding tongue and let himself drown in the taste of being wanted by someone he equally desired.

Doumeki pulled away slowly, taking Watanuki's hand and pressing it against his cheek. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for granting my wish."

Watanuki felt his pulse fluttering beside Doumeki's skin. What would happen now? He had acquiesced, but to what end? Would Doumeki expect them to hold hands when they walked to school or have Watanuki feed him hot dogs shaped like an octopus for lunch, even in front of Himawari? Watanuki didn't know much about being a couple, but he knew he couldn't let himself slip so far, to become someone who bended so easily to Doumeki's will.

"I don't think I can do it... after all," Watanuki said, nearly freezing at how shaky and fervid his voice sounded.

"I know," Doumeki said, pressing his lips against Watanuki's fingers. "I know you. I know what you can and can't do. So we'll do only what you can. And only when you want. But please, try and think of me, too."

Watanuki exhaled slowly, closing his eyes. He still wouldn't say anything, but he heard Doumeki make a satisfied sigh under his breath before leaning forward to kiss him once again.

Whether it was in dreams or while he was awake, it all felt so powerful, so fulfilling deep inside him. He couldn't always tell the difference between waking and sleeping, but he was suddenly certain that no matter where they did this or when their dreams ended and began, an act and feeling so strong as this could only be something beautifully and perfectly real.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Himawari gazed through the door to the infirmary, clapping her hand over her mouth and flushing when she saw Doumeki holding Watanuki in his arms, his face buried in Watanuki's shoulder. Watanuki himself had a dazed look on his face, but for once seemed surprisingly complacent as he ran his hands through Doumeki's hair, his swollen lips speaking words Himawari couldn't hear.

She was a little bit envious at first, but her face quickly melted into a smile. It was great that he could be with someone on equal terms, someone who would be there to keep him safe. Besides, she'd always secretly imagined they'd be good together in this way, and the reality of it quite exceeded her expectations.

"Kunogi-chan?" a voice came from behind her. She turned. The school doctor was standing behind her, his arms folded across his chest.

"Um..." she said, trying to stall for a moment. She tapped the door lightly with her foot to alert the two boys lost in their own world inside that there was someone outside. "I was just checking on Watanuki-kun. Do you think he'll be all right?"

The sensei lifted his eyebrows. "It just seemed to be exhaustion and anxiety. If he gets some sleep and decent care, I'm sure he'll be fine."

She smiled to herself, stepping away from the door. He really would be fine. After everything he had put himself through and suffered, she was happy that a new dream, a new path was at last opening up before him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o


End file.
